Sasuke bit back a sneeze as he pushed past a particularly dusty cardboard box, onyx eyes narrowing into a glare and bleeding red as they angrily scanned their dark surroundings. If the boxes that were piled high and the cluttered shelves were any indication, he seemed to have stumbled into a storage room of some sorts. The remaining space was little and tight—so much that he could barely fit his large frame in between boxes in his attempt to make it to the door once and forever.

The harsh truth was—this was not the kind of room he had expected to end up in when he spotted that perfect lone window a few minutes ago.

Damn that snake and his stupid scroll.

The young Uchiha still found it difficult to understand why he was willing to do his dirty work—to stoop so low and actually obey him. Then the image of his new 'sensei' flashed through his mind.

Ah—he remembered now.

Training was bearable—more so when the memory of that night loomed over him—but more time in his presence was most definitely not.

And besides, going on missions gave him a certain sense of normalcy that, quite frankly, he did not want to lose. It felt like home—and he was comforted by that. He was not used to his surroundings. He was not used to seeing that snake's face every day. He was definitely not used to his creepy eyes watching his every move. But he was used to missions. He was used to assignments. He was used to success. It was a type of guilty pleasure that he indulged himself.

Finally making it to the door, he pressed his palms to the wooden surface and closed his eyes, sending out a light pulse of chakra to detect any outsiders. Pleased to find the hallway to be empty, he twisted the knob and swiftly exited the room, effortlessly blending into the shadows that obscured the long passage.

Reaching up with one of his hands, he tugged the collar of his shirt up so that it covered his face, leaving only his onyx eyes uncovered. Orochimaru had been abundantly clear about not wanting anybody to recognize him, and Sasuke wasn't entirely fond of the idea of being associated with the snake more than he already was, either.

Now, he had been told that the scroll he was looking for should be in a room in the west wing…

The window he had climbed in through was quite low, which meant that there were some stairs he needed to find before planning any further.

Pressing his back flush against the wall when he reached a curb, he once again sent a pulse of chakra through his vicinities. There was no response—the coast was clear.

Which was the reason why he actually gasped when he made to turn the corner and collided with another body.

A smaller body—most likely a female…

His mind worked in overdrive to obtain information and regain the upper hand and his hands quickly wrapped around the intruder's forearms. He was not going to let this woman—whoever she was—get away so that she could alert the others, that was for sure.

But then he took the time to actually look down at her—and suddenly, his entire world seemed to change, the center of his universe shifting.

A hood and mask covered the woman's face—but not her eyes.

Bright emerald shone in the dim lighting so strongly that it was almost surreal.

It was the first time a long time that Sasuke faltered.